Choosing Flowers/Centerpieces/Food etc...how does it work with a DW??

Latillo

Hello ladies!

I am getting married at Secrets Maroma Beach next September and was curious as to how DW work?? Will my wedding coordinator send me pictures of different options (flowers, centerpeieces etc) and I choose which one I would like? Do I have to choose the menu without a food tasting or do I have that when we arrive (we are getting to the resort 3 dys prior to the wedding). Just curious because I do not know anyone else who has had a DW. Thanks!!

kimberly0315

We are getting married in Hawaii, but I think it would work the same.  First, I would ask your coordinator how they work.  It might be different but for us, we picked the venue (ceremony and reception) and caterer ourselves.  I read reviews and read a lot on the Style Me Pretty site and on here.  It turns out our caterer also does coordination services as well.  She has several people she recommends using for cakes, photographers, officiant, flowers etc...  I looked at their sites and reviews.  Last week I send 3 pictures of cakes I like and she will get quotes for me.  I will send her pictures of flowers and she will let me know the prices.  She said some brides ask her to quote 20 different things.  We agreed that 3 was a reasonable number.  I've sent pinterest or just pictures I liked.  I had a look at the different officiants websites and picked the one we thought would fit us best.  We did the same with photographers, I looked at their work and picked the one I liked best.  It was really helpful for her to recommend a few to me and I narrowed it down.  For hair and makeup, I will just ask her to pick someone.  She does this for a living and I trust her judgement.  Unfortunately, we won't be able to taste the food.  We will just decide what we want and hope for the best.  But, all of the reviews I've read have been fabulous so I'm not concerned.

Good Luck!!!

Latillo

Thanks so much for the advice! We have a package that includes our flowers, food, hair/makeup, centerpieces, cake etc...I guess that's why i was wondering. Since it's included I don't pick any outside vendors. But I will contact my coordinator and ask! I still have tons of time so I'm not panicked, I was just curious. Thanks again!

msuprincess04

I can't say how it'll work there, but I got married in Mexico a few weeks ago and my planner took care of everything. I sent her some photos of centerpieces and flowers that I liked, and she took care of it. The centerpieces were almost dead on to one of the photos I sent. I didn't try the cake or the food before the wedding, but I'd eaten at that restaurant before and knew it was great. Everything went better than planned. In the end, one of the reasons we chose a destination wedding was so we didn't have to worry about those little things that we really didn't care about and have a professional take care of all of it. Besides, you can't really screw up an amazing ocean view.

Latillo

Thanks @msuprincess04 and congrats on your recent marriage! Where in Mexico did you get married if you dont mind me asking? Also, did you legally get married in mexico or just have a symbolic ceremony? I'm trying to see how difficult it is to legally get married there. Thanks!

Not being worried with little details is a big reason we chose a destination wedding as well so I'm happy to hear things went smoothly! Hopefully we have the same luck

laquanharris

 I am getting married in Punta Cana, DR at Breathless Resorts. We have paid deposits on the wedding package and was told the  only other payment to be made would be the paying out the total. Im getting a little antsy so to speak because I have a "coordinator" stateside and the one that is included with my package. Unfortunately she is very slow to respond, should I be worried or is this the status quo? 

msuprincess04

@latillo Thanks! I got married in Cozumel, Mexico. I actually brought my state marriage license with me and we signed it there with our officiant (the best man's father and pastor) after the ceremony. And we listed the location on the license as a park near our home. We didn't have a problem filing and, as far as the state is concerned, I was married in my home state. Edited for spelling.

princessleia22

Like others said, I can't say how it will work at your venue.  But for mine, the coordinator sent us options for flowers, cake flavors, menu, etc. and we just selected based on the info she e-mailed and reviews from previous weddings that said everything turned out good.

For mine, I had a package that included everything and I tried to avoid customizing too much because I really didn't want the stress of selecting every detail. I brought my own bouquets (real touch flowers).  I wanted blue orchids, which they didn't offer, and I kind of liked the idea of being able to keep bouquet.  We had them do plain cake decoration then we brought our own ribbon & flowers (to match my bouquets) that our coordinator added onto the cake right before the wedding.

I figure that I partly chose them because they had good reviews from other brides and so I had to trust that they know what they are doing and that it will turn out good if I just sit back and let them do their job.

 

Latillo

@laquanharris I wouldn't be worried. I have heard that pretty much up until the time of the wedding you will not hear much from your coordinator. Since they are taking care of the brides that are actually at the resort every day they are very busy and usually take a little longer to respond. You have to consider they are on "island time" as well. Everything moves slower in more relaxed areas, not like here in the US! I've also heard that the closer the actual wedding gets the more resposive they are and when you are at the resort they have their full attention on you! Good luck!

Latillo

@nicoann thank you so much! This is just what I was hoping to hear A big reason we did destination is because I did not want to stress with all of the little details of a wedding. My FI and I both work long hours and I am also going to school right now so I do not have a lot of time to plan. Hopefully my coordinator works similar to yours. That sounds like everything was pretty easy. My package also includes everything. The only thing I am not sure about is centerpeieces because I did not see anything about those in the package details. I'll have to find out! Thanks again!!